Mass Effect: Crusades
by BahamutReishiki
Summary: Jeanne Shepard always wanted to be a chevalier ever since she was a child. Things quickly change when she is offered the chance to become a templar. Who knew that a single decision would change Thedas forever?
1. Timeline

**I do not own the characters, ideas, and/or places from either Mass Effect or Dragon Age. They are both owned by Bioware. Any original characters in the story belong to me. Any comparisons to other fan fiction or series characters are entirely coincidental and not intentional.**

****Well here is another new story by me. This time i am completely stepping away from the Warcraft universe and moving onto another medieval world - the world of Dragon Age. This story is a combination of the mass effect and dragon age universes, put together in such a way that they are interwoven completely. This first chapter highlights the various points of interactions between the mass effect species and the races from Thedas. If you are at all aware of the dragon age lore already you might notice several major key events altered or expanded up. Now sit back and enjoy **Mass Effect: Crusades.**

**Ages of Mass Effect: Crusades  
**

**Divine Age  
**

**1:30 Divine: **The asari and salarians come to the aid of Thedas against the second blight. The asari's magic and salarian's intellect would come to turn the tides against the darkspawn all the way until the death of the archdemon.

**1:90 Divine: **As the second blight winds down, the Chantry sends several envoys to Seheron and Par Vollen to convert the population to the worship of Andraste but were unsuccessful. They found the Salarians to be too scientific-minded to pray on the abstract views of an afterlife and the Asari, whose lifespans were recorded to be upwards of 1,200 years, found the idea of praying to someone hundreds of years younger then themselves laughable.

* * *

**Glory Age  
**

**2:07 Glory: **Krogan are first spotted migrating across the Sea of Ash. After witnessing all the atrocities done by the darkspawn during the Second Blight Orlais prepares itself for another war while hopelessly entrenched in battle against the expanding Dalish Elves to the south.

**2:11 Glory: **The Krogan clans cross the Gamordan Peaks and encounter the elves. The struggling Orlesian forces assume that the Krogan would attack the elves but are horrified when the two forces decide to work together. Backed by their strong new allies the elves push north much quicker then anyone could have expected and sack Val Royeaux in 2:13 Glory. Tales from surviving soldiers indicate that the Krogan have a degree of resilience unheard that allow them to survive stab wounds quite easily.

**2:15 Glory: **The Exalted March against the elves and Krogan begins and quickly pushes the elves out of Val Royeaux and Orlais and down to the Heartlands. When the Chantry attempts to cross the Heartlands and attack the Dalish capital directly they are surrounded by Krogan reinforcements and slaughtered at the Battle of Val Foret.

**2:16 Glory: **Pushed back once again by the Krogan and in fear of losing the Exalted March and all of Orlais, the Chantry pleads for aid from the Salarians. Instead of rushing to help immediately the amphibian-like race decides to investigate the Krogan further before making any large decisions. With the only power outside the Chantry besides the Tevinter Imperium staying neutral, the Krogan and Elves appeared to be on the verge of victory. It came as a surprise when the Turians, until then an unknown race from deep in the Donarks to the north, sweep down with a massive army to bolster the besieged Chantry and Orlesian forces.

**2:18 Glory: **At the battle of Montfort, the Turians manage to separate the Krogan from their Dalish allies long enough for Halamshiral to be besieged and destroyed.

**2:19 Glory: **With the capital of the Dales destroyed, the Chantry and Turians assume that the Krogan and elves would give up but in a surprisingly bold and effective military maneuver, the Krogan army sweeps around the Turian and Chantry forces and retreat across the Heartlands back to the Dales to rebuild Halamshiral. Any further assaults by the Turians or the Chantry are quickly repelled and decimated. Scouts report several large Krogan clans migrating across the Gamordan Peaks towards the Dales.

**2:21 Glory: **After two years of being unable to strike a decisive blow against the Dalish elves or their Krogan allies, the Turians decide to put everything they have to destroy the "Krogan Hordes" before they spread across all of Thedas. Before the war could escalate any further, the Salarians and Asari come out of hiding to mediate in what would become known as the "Treaty of Tuchanka." The Krogan and Dalish elves agreed to no longer try and seize land from Orlais and in return no further Exalted Marches would be called against them. Many Orlesians and Turians are furious at the intervention and hatred against the Asari grows due to their meddling.

**2:25 Glory:** The hatred against the Asari reaches the point where they are hunted down. In retaliation the Asari use the powerful magic wielded by their matriarchs to summon all Asari back to Par Vollen. For the next 400 years sightings of Asari across Thedas become rare to the point where they are thought to be extinct.

**2:30 Glory: **Halamshiral is rebuilt. Orlesian scouts report over thirty thousand Krogan now live in the capital and that any covert actions against them would be impossible. Orlais decides to bolster its southern defenses.

**2:50 Glory:** The Krogan are fully assimilated into the Dales with several smaller cities springing up around the country. Rather than using Elven names, each of these cities are named after a specific clan with the four cities named Urdnot, Weyrloc, Ganar and Drau.

* * *

**Towers Age  
**

**3:10 Towers: **The Old God Toth awakens in central Thedas and the darkspawn quickly run rampant over the land in larger numbers than ever before. As cities in Orlais and Nevarra are besieged, Turian forces gather near the city of Nessum to attack the darkspawn in what would become known as the Massacre of Hunter Fell when they preemptively encounter Toth.

**3:11 Towers: **Due to the disastrous battle at Hunter Fell, Turian forces retreat north across the Anderfels to the Donarks where they remain for most of the Third Blight guarding their own borders along the Weather Pass while reinforcing their forces.

**3:19 Towers: **As Orlais is decimated by the darkspawn, surprising reinforcements from the Dales helps turn the tides. The Krogan, who find themselves extremely resilient to the darkspawn taint, push the hordes north out of Orlais all the way to the Arlesans with the Dalish remaining behind the front lines to prevent any surprises by both the Chantry and the darkspawn.

**3:25 Towers: **The battle against Toth ends where it started at the city of Hunter Fell. Fully recovered from their defeat 14 years ago, the Turian forces work together with Orlais to prevent darkspawn reinforcements from reaching the Old God. Toth is defeated when the salarian Grey Warden Valern stabs it in the heart as it attempts to flee. With the death of Toth and the valiant efforts by the Turians to contain the darkspawn, the Grey Wardens accept Turians into their ranks.

* * *

**Black Age  
**

**4:24 Black:** In a controversial decision at Weisshaupt, the Grey Wardens decide to allow Elves and Krogan into their ranks. The Salarians, who had been pushing for this decision for years, praise the decision for allowing a more varied Grey Warden force. Opponents to the decision, including both the Tevinter Imperium and Orlais, claim that allowing such people into the sacred order will doom all of Thedas.

**4:35 Black: **The Divine, Faustine I, elects Samara to be the first Asari Knight-Justicar of Par Vollen. While the Asari do not have any formal circles for mages the act is seen as a sign of trust between the Asari and the Chantry. Taking her job in stride Samara spends the next several decades rooting out Asari practicing blood magic and summoning demons.

**4:86 Black: **Morinth is born to Samara. It is noted that even for an Asari her latent magical powers are enormous.

**4:88 Black: **Twin daughters, an extremely rare occurrence among the Asari, are born to Samara. She decides to name them Rila and Falere after a pair of famous Asari mages during the Second Blight.

* * *

**Exalted Age  
**

**5:20 Exalted: **The Elven Grey Warden Gaharel slays the Old God Andoral in single combat. As the Fourth Blight comes to a close it becomes apparent that the earlier prejudices against the newly allowed Grey Warden races are incorrect. In the ensuing years a record number of Elves and Krogan volunteer to join the ancient order, leading to an explosion in the number of Grey Wardens on Theda.

**5:30 Exalted: **Morinth flees from Par Vollen after enthralling hundreds of Asari to her will using blood magic. Knowing just how dangerous her daughter could be to Thedas Samara leaves her two other daughters in the care of a close friend in order to track down Morinth. Over the next couple hundred of years Samara would come close time and time again to catching Morinth only for her to slip away at the last second.

* * *

**Steel Age  
**

**6:25 Steel: **The Quarian migrant fleet is seen approaching the Rivaini port city of Seere. They claim to be fleeing from the Qunari hordes to the east. Having never heard of the Qunari, Rivain does not believe them and attempts to eradicate what they see as an invading army. Before any substantial force could be gathered the Quarians flee back to their ships and head south around the Free Marshes to the Dales, where they are welcomed by the Dalish Elves and Krogan for their resourcefulness and intellect.

**6:28 Steel:** With the introduction of the Quarians to their lands, the elves and Krogan experience a reign of prosperity felt nowhere else in Thedas. New and exotic methods of metallurgy are discovered and the Dales are now regarded as one of the strongest powers in all of Thedas.

**6:30 Steel: **The Qunari manage to easily land on Par Vollen, taking the Asari by surprise. While quickly conquering the eastern half of the island, reinforcements from the Salarians on Seheron manage to hold the Qunari forces back long enough for almost all Asari to flee Par Vollen west to Seheron. Those that remain commit suicide rather than convert to the Qun, greatly impressing the Qunari forces.

**6:45 – 6:60 Steel: **In a series of land and naval battles throughout the Boeric Ocean, the Qunari are repulsed from Seheron. Unable to take the island, the Qunari head south. Within two years they had conquered most of Rivain, Antiva, and the Tevinter Imperium.

**6:65 Steel: **In the crushing battle of Weisshaupt, the combined Turian and Anderfel armies drive back the Qunari forces. This is regarded as a turning point in the Qunari expansion westward.

* * *

**Storm Age  
**

**7:20 Storm:** The Quarians begin attempting to replicate the golems created by the Dwarven Paragon Calidin through trial and error.

**7:39 Storm:** The first Quarian golems are created. Dubbed 'Geth' they are put through a series of tests to determine their overall effectiveness. After several months it becomes clear that the Geth are capable of learning outside their created perimeters, intriguing the Quarians as well as the Dalish Elves.

**7:41 Storm: **The Quarians are mystified when several Geth ask 'if they have a soul.' When the Quarians are unable to answer it, due to several philosophical and scientific reasons, the several thousand Geth in existence decide to leave the Dales in order to answer this question. Before they leave they vow to return when they have the answer.

**7:50 Storm: **With the New Exalted Marches against the Qunari managing to push them back to Par Vollen, the Asari and Salarian decide on their next course of action. Seeing retaking Par Vollen to be impossible, the Asari decide to stay on Seheron with their Salarian allies.

**7:52 Storm: **The Asari city of Thessia is founded on the southern tip of Seheron in memory of their capital city on Par Vollen.

**7:84 Storm: **The Llomerryn Accord is signed proclaiming peace between all parties except the Tevinter Imperium and the Asari tribes. Before signing the treaty the Qunari demand that the Quarians return to their homeland. They say that Quarian means "those who create" in Qunlat and that their flight to Thedas is what brought the Qunari over.

**7:85 Storm: **The Treaty of Illium is signed between the Asari and Qunari. It states that the Qunari will allow the Asari free access to Par Vollen for trade and pilgrimage purposes and will not attempt to convert them to the Qun unwillingly.

**7:86 Storm:** As the revelation that the Quarians are responsible for the Qunari War spreads, tensions against them begin to rise. Knowing what happened to the Asari centuries ago the Quarians quickly retreat back to the Dales before any actions can be taken against them. To atone for their perceived mistakes in causing many thousands of deaths the Quarians begin wearing ceremonial outfits and hiding their faces with hoods and masks. Despite their attempts, the Quarians are removed from the Grey Wardens and forbidden from becoming templars.

* * *

**Blessed Age  
**

**8:09 Blessed: **Liara T'Soni is born to the popular and powerful matriarch, Benezia T'Soni, in Thessia. The continuing of the T'Soni lineage is seen as an omen of great fortune for the Asari.

**8:14 Blessed: **Turian and Andersfel observers sight ships on the Volca Sea in western Thedas. When contact is made near the city of Laysh the travelers, who call themselves Drell, say that they are all that are left of their people after their lands turned to sand and dust. When Chantry interpreters ask how far they sailed, the Drell reply 'for more then thirty days and nights.'

**8:16 Blessed: **After much deliberation the various powers in Thedas, excluded the Tevinter Imperium, agree to give the Drell full citizenship anywhere on the continent. The Drell are relieved at the hospitality but request that they be given the choice to worship their own gods or the Maker. Although uneasy, the Divine agrees to this request and the Pact of Rakhana is announced.

**8:24 Blessed:** The Orlesian Empire, under the mad Emperor Reville, launches a second invasion of Ferelden. Attempting to attack by both land and sea, he is furious when his army is utterly decimated by the Krogan, Quarians and Elves as they march through the Dales. While he wanted immediate retribution for this he knew that it would be futile and thus concentrated on sending fleets across the Waking Sea to the ports of West Hill and Highever.

**8:50 Blessed: **In the middle of the Blessed Age several Geth, whom have not been seen on Thedas for over 100 years, appear in the Dales. The Geth inform their creators that they still have not been able to come up with an answer to their question but have decided to remain separate from their creators even if they do. The Quarians ask what the Geth have been doing but they do not get an answer.

**8:73 Blessed: **Kaiden Alenko is born to a middle-class family in Rivain.

**8:76 Blessed: **The Dales begin to covertly supply the Ferelden rebels under the command of Moira the Rebel Queen. With supplies consisting of food and weapons the rebels are able to survive the harshest winter in centuries and strike at the encamped Orlesians.

**8:77 Blessed: **Several letters from the Orlesian puppet king Meghren to Orlais are intercepted by Dalish elves. The letters indicate that Meghren knows the Dales are supplying the rebels and are potentially breaking the Treaty of Tuchanka. Fearing an invasion, the Quarians are commissioned to construct a way to prevent the inevitable war from reaching Halamshiral.

**8:78 Blessed: **In a surprising twist, the Orlesian emperor sends a missive to the Dales saying that they will not take action against them supplying the Ferelden rebels. Taking the peace offering with a grain of salt the Dales send Urdnot Wrex, leader of Clan Urdnot, north to figure out what Orlais is up do.

**8:80 Blessed:** Kaiden Alenko accidentally uses magic and is sent to the circle at Dairsmuid.

**8:86 Blessed: **Garrus Vakarian is born near the Turian capital of Palaven in the Donarks. In the Tevinter capital of Minrathous a four year old girl whose is known only as Jennifer is brought to the circle. Despite a small and weak body within a couple of years she displays an aptitude for magic far beyond that of anyone at the circle and perhaps the entire imperium.

**8:88 Blessed: **Jeanne Shepard is born. Urdnot Wrex returns to Halamshiral and informs them that the Orlesians don't seem to be preparing for a war against the Dales but rather the Tevinter Imperium to the north. Five year old Miranda Lawson is brought to the Kirkwall Circle of Mages. As she is dragged into the Gallows she screams that her mother never leaves her daughters in danger and that she would save her.

**8:89 Blessed: **Tali'Zorah, daughter of Quarian Rael'Zorah, is born in Halamshiral. In a surprising coincidence the Divine, Beatrix III, states that the punishment of preventing Quarians from serving the Chantry as templars or being Grey Wardens was overly harsh and overturns their earlier expulsion. While a majority of Thedas still blames them for the Qunari none of the major power speaks out against the Divine's decision.

**8:90 Blessed:** Merrill is born to the Alerion Clan in the Dales. Within a few years she shows a gift for magic and is promptly given to Keeper Marethari of the Sabrae Clan for tutoring.

**8:92 Blessed: **Against the wishes of her mother, Liara T'Soni is allowed to travel outside of Seheron in order to research pre-Andraste civilizations. While she leaves on strained terms with her mother, several letters and visits over the following years mend the tensions between them.

**8:9****6 Blessed: **After ten years in the Tevinter circle Jennifer overhears some of the templars discussing the ongoing efforts by the Archon to use blood magic to bind her to his will. In a fit of rage she murders every templar in the circle and escapes from Minrathous, but not before killing over three dozen magisters. A price of 5,000 sovereigns is put on her head by the Black Divine.

* * *

**Dragon Age  
**

**9:00 Dragon: **The Ferelden rebels, led by the young but experienced King Maric manage to successfully overthrow Orlesian rule due in no small part to the supplies trickling eastward from the Dales.

**9:05 Dragon: **Garrus Vakarian is recruited into the Turian army. He shows a natural tendency for long range combat and is inducted into the Turian Ranger Corps where he goes on to excel in all forms of ranged combat.

**9:07 Dragon: **Jeanne Shepard begins her training as a chevalier despite her non-noble upbringing. Unable to accept a commoner becoming a chevalier several of her fellow trainees ambush her when she is training one day. When the instructors heard the sounds of fighting and investigated they found her surrounded by several badly injured male trainees with only a few scratches on her own body. As rumors of her strength and ability reach across Orlais several important military commanders take notice.

**9:08 Dragon: **Noted Salarian biologist, Mordin Solus, claims to have discovered a major breakthrough concerning the taint spread by the darkspawn. He does not answer questions, claiming that there is still a lot of work for him to do. Before the end of the year Mordin leaves Seheron for mainland Thedas in order to study the darkspawn. He protests against any bodyguards or protection, claiming it would affect his ability to conduct research.

**9:10 Dragon: **Jeanne Shepard finishes her training as a chevalier. At her knighting ceremony she is proclaimed 'the best female chevalier since Aveline herself' and offered templar training by Knight-Commander Martel of Orlais. After a few days of internal debating she accepts.

**9:13 Dragon:** Present Day. Jeanne Shepard completes her training as a templar.


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own the characters, ideas, and/or places from either Mass Effect or Dragon Age. They are both owned by Bioware. Any original characters in the story belong to me. Any comparisons to other fan fiction or series characters are entirely coincidental and not intentional.**

This is the first true chapter of my new crossover and it is looking like it is going to be a long ride. If you want to imagine what Shepard looks like just take the standard female version from Mass Effect 3 and there you go. Most of the characters from the Mass Effect universe will make an appearance in some way or form in this story alongside many of the dragon age characters as well. Do keep in mind that this story takes place 17 years before the start of Dragon Age: Origins so any of the wardens from Origins and Hawke are still very young and not important to the story as of the moment. So with all that said sit back and enjoy the ride. Read and review and all that.

* * *

...

* * *

******Mass Effect: Crusades**  


Chapter 1: The Graduation in the Rain

_**9:13 Dragon - Val Royeaux, Orlais**_

It was the sixth day of Molioris, or Bloomingtide as most people knew it, and it was raining in Val Royeaux. While Orlais may not receive the fierce and dangerous summer storms of Rivain or the freezing winter blizzards that plague Ferelden and the Dales it had its fair share of weather and it consisted of constant rain during the spring.

Despite these miserable conditions several dozen figures could be seen standing at attention in the courtyard of the Grand Cathedral. The Grand Cathedral was the massive and opulent capital and center of the Chantry in Thedas as well as its appointed leader, the Divine. Usually it would be filled to the capacity with both pilgrims and worshippers singing the Chant of Light but on this day the entire courtyard was bare save for the armored figures.

Each man and woman wore identical armor consisting of worn leather pauldrons that extended from their shoulders down their arms, a silverite cuirass emblazoned with a downward pointing burning sword, an ankle-length purple and red battle skirt for maximum mobility and a helm that hid their entire face from view. These people might have been cold and freezing in the rain but they were all there for a reason. After years of training and studying they could finally be called templars.

Standing just off center in the third row was Jeanne Shepard. Shivering from the mixture of rain and wind, her face twitched slightly as a droplet of water cascaded down her red hair and onto the bridge of her nose. As she shook her head to dislodge the annoying liquid her thoughts drifted to the past.

Her name had been a source of much amusement and ridicule from her fellow Orlesians ever since her childhood. It wasn't like she purposefully hid the fact that her name was Ferelden, on the contrary she was quite proud of it. Before Orlais her parents had owned a small plot of land near Highever in Ferelden and made various commodities for the local garrisons during the later years of the occupation by the Orlesians. When Maric started the rebellion in 8.99 Blessed with the help of Dalish arms, her parents feared for their lives when Meghren became more and more obsessed with pacifying the rebelling populous.

As luck would have it she had an uncle in Orlais that happened to work for one of the more powerful noblemen. A quick letter from her parents and her uncle managed to book her family passage on the next available ship to Val Royeaux on the condition that they swear allegiance to the emperor and never return to Ferelden.

Needless to say her parents took up the offer without a second thought and ten days later Jeanne Shepard was a twelve-year old Orlesian.

It wasn't as if she had a problem with Orlais. Sure she knew her parents' stories of the atrocities the Orlesians committed during the occupation and subsequent rebellion but she herself had no personal attachment to any of the places or people her parents mentioned. Of the few memories that have not yet faded with the passage of time, the most vivid consist of huddling inside her house during the harsh, cold winters as snow and ice fell from the sky for days at a time. She could still remember the phrase her father would say whenever the first true frost of the year arrived.

"_Winter is coming indeed. I still don't know how he could tell in the middle of Frumentum."_

Her life in Orlais was pretty ordinary until six years ago when she decided to become a chevalier after seeing one of their parades passing through the streets. Little did she know the persecution she would face by those also training to be chevaliers. As soon as her name became known, she was immediately ostracized by her fellow chevaliers in training simply for being born in a back-woods barbarian nation.

For some of the noblemen simply ignoring and mocking her wasn't enough. Several of them came from prominent noble families well versed in playing the stupid "Game" that all Orlesians are proud of. They thought that her mere presence was an insult to them and decided to do the best thing for everyone and _remove_ her.

It had happened late one night near the waning days of Frumentum. As the autumn winds chilled the lands and the skies became increasingly overcast, the trainees quickly moved inside to escape from the elements. This gave her much needed space to practice in the now-empty training fields. She was practicing her swordsmanship when four of her fellow chevaliers-in-training walked towards her. Upon first glace she knew immediately they came from the upper noble class and were the type of people to always get what they wanted. As the approached her she saw they had smug and superior looks on their faces.

They might have had a more noble birth but she had a sword. They did not.

When they finally got within talking distance they told her, with no lack of superiority, that a Ferelden, and a woman no less, had no place in being a chevalier and they were there to help her understand her rightful place in society. They must have thought she would cower and beg for mercy because they stupidly came at her unarmed.

Perhaps it was the screams of pain that drew the attention of the instructors. Not even five minutes later several of her instructors ran out onto the field and stared wide-eyed and mouth agape at what had transpired. Three of the boys were on the ground unconscious with severe lacerations and wounds on their arms and legs while the forth was gripping his broken legs and screaming at her about revenge or something. She really didn't care about his threats at that point. It was getting cold and she wanted to get cleaned up.

It was fortunate for her that she didn't get in trouble for disabling her fellow trainees. The next day, while being reprimanded for her uncouth actions, she was told that two of the boys could no longer be chevaliers due to the injuries she inflicted. She really wanted to say that she was hoping all four would be injured that badly but she was already in enough trouble and let it drop.

Several months later, in the early days of spring, she stood proudly as she was knighted a chevalier with distinctions in swordsmanship. Her skills must have impressed someone important because before she had even left the hall where she was knighted several people claiming to be representatives of various noblemen approached her and offered her the chance to pledge fealty to someone of great importance. She was quite tired from the events of the day and politely told them to give her a few days to think about it.

A couple of days later, just as she was about to decide on who to serve, she was approached by the knight-commander of Val Royeaux, Martel. Initially confused at his presence, she found that the knight-commander was there to offer her the rare opportunity to become a templar. He went on to say, to placate her suspicion perhaps, that while templars are usually trained since childhood by the chantry her overall skills would be a great benefit to the order and she would not have to bow down to the nobles of Orlais.

She was grateful that the knight-commander gave her a few days to think about her answer because, truth be told, she wasn't so sure what she wanted to do. Jeanne had always considered herself one of the more moderate Andrastians on Thedas and for someone living in the heartland of the chantry that was saying something. Sure she knew the more popular verses of the Chant of Light and contributed a part of the quarterly stipend to the chantry orphanages but she did not adhere every aspect of her life to Andraste like a lot of people did.

All those reasons made her a potentially bad templar. From what she knew templars were usually picked from chantry orphanages and raised well versed in everything about Andraste including the distrust of magic. It was no surprise that most of them grew up with a severe dislike or even hatred of magic and those who wield it. She did not know what the knight-commander had in mind when he gave her the opportunity to be a templar but she would rather become one that serve as a chevalier to a pompous and immoral nobleman.

A fork of lightning arched across the sky into the Waking Sea to the south and snapped Jeanne out of her memories. Shaking her head to gather her thoughts she took a look around at her fellow templars. As has been the tradition for hundreds of years the majority of them were human. What was interesting was the mixture of elves, quarians and drell scattered throughout, with each race had different reasons for become templars

The elves may not have trusted the humans after the failed Exalted March against them but they did have an understanding of magic. They have had magic for far longer than even the Tevinter Imperium to the north and knew more about the inherent dangers of magic and the signs of blood magic. It was no surprise that all the templars in the sole dalish circle of mages were elves themselves. From what she heard it was the most liberal and free circle in all of Thedas with the mages free to leave and come back whenever they want.

Jeanne always found quarians interesting to talk to and travel with. They never removed their ceremonial outfits or face masks and thus one of the biggest challenges was to successfully convince a quarian to show you their face. Much like the dwarves they were unable to wield magic or enter the Fade and that made them perfect to become templars because there was no risk of being possessed and becoming an abomination.

The two drell she did not know personally. In fact she never even talked to them since they tended to keep to themselves or their studies. From what she was able to find from rumors was that the drell willingly give up their children to the circles when magic is found. Apparently it has something to do with their view of the community over personal attachments.

When a whisper of excitement raced through the initiates Jeanne looked and saw two people walking towards them from the Grand Cathedral. She easily recognized the man as knight-commander Martel but through her helm and the rain she could barely make out his graying features. The woman at his side, looking miserable in the rain despite holding an umbrella to keep her dry was the grand cleric. She had to admit, the grand cleric had managed to age gracefully despite being almost forty years old.

"_How many women in Orlais would kill to look that well at her age? I bet a sovereign that some of them would even consort with demons." _She mentally chuckled at that last thought. It would give her the perfect excuse to use her templar powers on some of the more…_vache_ girls.

As the voice of the grand cleric reached her ears despite the torrential downpour muffling most sounds Jeanne could tell that she was just as miserable, perhaps even more so, then the templars she was approaching.

"Do you truly require my presence here today knight-commander? You have done this speech for at least a decade now, I believe you are old enough to do so on your own."

"You know as well as I do that it is tradition in Orlais for the grand cleric to give the final words to all the new templars at the end of the commencement," Martel retorted, "Have you merely forgotten or do you simply not want to be outside on such a lovely day?"

The grand cleric glared at Martel, "Very well then. Let us proceed before we all catch a cold."

When the knight-commander stopped several meters away from the initiates Jeanne snapped to attention, her previous fatigue forgotten. Martel paced up and down the rows of templars inspecting each and every one of them.

"I find myself grateful that so many of you have decided to join the templar order in order to curb the influence of magic in the world. For too long has magic and those who wield it been allowed to free range without restrictions. Let us not forget that it was the magisters of Tevinter that corrupted the golden city and brought the darkspawn and blights upon us all."

"We templars stand before that which cannot be seen. Blood mages and apostates walk among us disguised as ordinary people in order to conceal their unholy rituals. You will need to be vigilant and keep both your eyes and ears open for any rumor, any small piece of information that can lead to the arrest of a maleficar."

As he continued with his speech Jeanne couldn't help but be impressed. It was almost as if he memorized it before coming outside.

"While it is true that most of you will be sent to the various circles scattered throughout Thedas your task is no less important. Magic is a gift from the Maker that can and is squandered in the hands of those unworthy or untrained. You will be required to find children showing the gift of magic and escort them to your circle in order for them to train their powers in a safe and secure environment where they will eventually take their harrowing."

Once he finished his speech Martel turned to the grand cleric and motioned forward with his hand, "If you will please do the honors and recite from the Chant of Light."

Nodding briefly, the grand cleric coughed to clear her throat before starting.

_Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. _

_Foul and corrupt are they _

_Who have taken His gift _

_And turned it against His children. _

_They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones. _

_They shall find no rest in this world _

_Or beyond._

Martel waited until the grand cleric finished before speaking again, "While most of you will be sent to the circles to perform your duties there are several among you who have shown the required dedication, skill and devotion to the order to be given special assignments by the knight-divine himself. Please step forward when I announce your name. Renaud Vichiers!"

As the knight-commander went down the list Jeanne rolled her eyes. She knew who each of the names called were. They were all zealous men and women who would rather kill a mage then protect or arrest them, making them perfect for hunting down apostates and blood mages. If that wasn't bad enough several of them had rumors circulating concerning several deaths of people who crossed them in one way or another. The knight-commander wasn't picking these people for their skill; he was picking them for their brutality and utter lack of morals.

"_Why did I become a templar again? I certainly didn't do it for the lyrium addiction. Perhaps I will ask to be sent to the Ferelden circle at Lake Calenhad. It might give me the chance to stop by my family's old farm and look for a memento or two. Dad would say let it rest but mom would have really appreciated the gesture."_

"Jeanne Shepard!"

The first time her name was called she thought she was just hearing things. When the knight-commander called her name a second time, in conjunction with an initiate to her left elbowing her ribs, she snapped out of her shock and stepped forward. Each step she took was filled with confusion. For what reason was her name called?

When she stopped a couple of feet away from the knight-commander he looked over the gathered templars and spoke, "Jeanne Shepard, your morals and code of honor have led you to make several difficult decisions that many of your peers would most likely not be able to do. What is probably your greatest asset is your innate ability to inspire those around you to follow you to the fade and beyond. Assigning you to a circle would be a gross misuse of your talents; talents that would be bettered served in the pursuit of those that would threaten both the chantry and all of Thedas. I hereby give you the rank of knight-lieutenant and everything that the rank carries. It is my hope that you use your templar powers to protect the people from the curse of magic. Dismissed!"

Jeanne didn't move as she stared at the ground. So perplexed by what had just transpired that she didn't even feel the cold rain seeping down the separation between her helm and cuirass and onto her back. She couldn't piece together the knight-commander's reasoning for giving her such an honor. Such distinctions were usually given to the templars most likely to not show pity on any apostates or blood mages they catch.

"Well, aren't you going to talk to him?"

She looked up at the heavy accented voice. Standing right behind her was a quarian with the only part of his body visible being the slightly glowing white eyes behind his facemask.

"What are you talking about?"

The quarian, Kal'Reeger if she remembered his name, shook his head, "It is obvious to anyone with half a brain that you were not expecting the knight-commander to call your name. Instead of worrying and wondering why don't you go and talk to the bosh'tet."

"You believe he'll answer a question from a new templar?"

Kal'Reeger shrugged, "He found you interesting enough before. I don't see what could have changed in ten minutes."

Jeanne nervously clenched her hands as she considered her options. She knew Kal'Reeger had a point. Talking to the knight-commander would most likely get her the answers to her questions but she wasn't certain he would talk to her. It was either talk to him or hope she found the answer on her own time. After about a minute she sighed and turned to the quarian, "You win. I'll go talk to the knight-commander."

She could literally feel his smirk through her back as she reached the massive steps leading up to the cathedral. Nodding in respect to the two templars standing watch just outside she quickly gave a prayer to Andraste before walking through the grand entrance and inside. Once inside she removed her helm and ran a hand through her hair to loosen the water still clinging to it. Putting her helm under an arm she looked around for the knight-commander and found him sitting on a bench next to one of the many statues of Andraste adorning the cathedral.

He turned his head as she approached, "I see you have followed me in here Shepard. Is there anything you need?"

"I think you know why I am here sir."

Martel turned and looked at the statue of Andraste looming over him, "I suppose you are here to ask me why I called out your name for promotion earlier? As you are most likely aware, I find the Seekers of Truth to be a redundant and worthless part of the Chantry. While the idea of people making sure we templars don't falter is admirable in reality we don't need an outside group watching our every move as if were a rabid dog about to bite its master."

"I don't see how I fit into this."

"Of course you don't," he scoffed while shaking his head, "After I finish speaking you will understand everything. In the early days of the order, before the chantry was even formed, the seekers and templars were part of a larger organization called the Inquisition. It was created in the aftermath of the First Blight to hunt down heretics and mages abusing their power. The branch of the inquisition that would become the templars hunted down the targets and the part that became the seekers of truth followed and minimized collateral damage to civilians."

"This was all fine and good back in the early days. I will be the first to admit the inquisition was a terrible and abusive group. They didn't take mages to the circles for protection and learning like the templars do now. They killed them - brutally and violently most of the time. The seekers did what they could to minimize the killing but they were outnumbered by the fears of mages after the horrible and long blight. When the inquisition joined the chantry and became the templars and seekers, they reformed their ways from killing mages to protecting them. We might have changed our ways but the seekers they never forgot."

Jeanne shrugged, "What does all that have to do with me?"

The knight-commander glared at her before letting out a breath, "What it has to do with you is quite simple. The main way the seekers keep their power is that when the rare templar has his mind addled and goes insane they blow it out of proportion to the Divine. They claim that all templars are loose cannons that could go off at any second despite the good we do. What we need is a templar who does so much good without sacrificing their mind that the seekers are pushed away from the limelight."

She was confused by this last statement and was only able to mumble out, "Sir?"

"It took some time but after hearing about what you did to those men back in your chevalier training I realized that you may be just what I need. I know despite how much you try to hide it that you have a moderate view on the chantry's treatment of mages. If you were given the option you would rather kill the mage that subject them to the rite of tranquility, if only to spare them the 'tortured existence,' as you call it."

"I can explain that-"

Martel held up a hand, "There is not need to explain Shepard. You are not the first, and you will not be the last, templar who thinks the rite of tranquility is an abomination. If there were another way to strip a mage's ability to use magic without leaving them an emotionless husk of a person it would be done. It was your morals…your honor that convinced me to make you a templar."

Jeanne could not believe what she was hearing. Of course she had her doubts and suspicions when the knight-commander offered her the chance to become a templar but she would never have imagined it would be because of this, "You wanted me to become a templar simply to be a showpiece? Like some piece of gaudy jewelry on an nobleman's wife?"

Martel turned angrily to her, "Do not put words into my mouth Shepard. When you were training to be a chevalier you demonstrated such superb skill that people were calling you the next Aveline of Orlais. Unlike all those other pompous nobles who think being a chevalier makes them about the rule of law you tempered your skills with self-restraint and a strict moral code. I needed you to become a templar in order to show Thedas that we are not overzealous, mage-hating, lyrium addicts but people simply trying to protect those they love from a very real threat. You are one of the few people I have ever met that has the ability to inspire those around you to such an extent. Do you not recall the apostate you encountered last year?"

It was about a year ago when a mage escaped from the circle tower. Usually the procedure for such an event would be to alert any templars in the areas the mage might have fled to but because of the supposed lack of threat from the mage it was decided by her instructors that it would be a good chance for some of the templar initiates to experience capturing a live mage without substantial risk. Five others beside herself were picked out to go and capture the mage. They were told the mage was barely able to conjure fire and electricity and would be good practice for when they became true templars. What they failed to mention, or didn't know, was that the mage had fled the circle after a templar discovered evidence of blood magic in his quarters. Within moments of finding the mage and catching up to him everything went completely to hell.

The first attack severed the heads of two of her companions and the follow-up caused a third to seize up with convulsions and die in agony on the ground. She was unfazed by the violence and moved quickly enough to put down a Cleanse around herself to block out the blood mage's influence but was unable to do so for her remaining two colleagues before they were enthralled and turned against her by the mage.

While free from any influence from the blood mage while within the aura she was forced to fight against her two companions. After several exchanges between them she realized they were slowly forcing her out of the Cleanse. If they managed to succeed there would be nothing to prevent herself from falling under the blood mage's influence. Desperate and angry she managed to push the two templars back and shouted:

"_You dare call yourselves templars? What happened to your honor and dignity? You spent the last two years training to fight against mages and you fall prey to a blood mage within moments? Gather up your courage and release the shackles holding your wills hostage or the Maker will be the least of your concerns!"_

What happened next is a blur to her but the next thing she knew the blood mage was dead, a sword through his throat, and her two remaining companions were regaining their senses. When she asked what happened they both claimed her speech roused them from the blood mage's control long enough for one of them to run their sword through him.

Her hand absently traced over the thin scar on her left shoulder, "One does not forget their first encounter with a blood mage."

Martel nodded and motioned for her to follow him before continuing, "A blood mage's enthrallment is almost impossible for a person to break without another mage or veteran templar to cleanse and sever the connection between the caster and the target. The fact that your speech was enough to do so has more then one head in the chantry talking."

They stopped walking and Shepard found herself back at the entrance to the Grand Cathedral, "What we need from you is for you to be yourself whenever you are away on assignment. Whether you are hunting down blood mages, rouge apostates or simply visiting a city, your gift will influence the populous to follow you and hence, the templar order as well."

"I didn't know the templar's were politicians now sir."

"As I mentioned before if we want to pull ourselves out from under the ever watchful eyes of the seekers of truth we need to have the population of Thedas on our side. Your ability to lead and inspire others, combined with your moral code, might just be the thing the templar order needs."

"I don't know about this sir. It still feels wrong."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you take a few days to think about this. If you truly do not think this is a useful way to use your talents to benefit all of Thedas, including the mages, then you just have to say so and I will have you assigned to the circle of your choice."

Jeanne pushed open the door leading back to the courtyard before putting her helmet back on to keep out the rain. She had a lot to think about and she didn't know if a few days was enough time to do so. As she started down the steps into the courtyard all that her mind could think about was that she should have kept her mouth shut.

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* * *

Martel watched as Shepard walked away into the rain, his hands clasped behind his back. What he told her was the truth but he was unsure as to whether or not she would go and tell someone, intentionally or not, about it. The last thing he needed was for the seekers to find out. If that were to happen he would be replaced faster then he could blink and the new knight-commander would do anything to consolidate their new power – even kill. It had happened before and it would most likely happen again.

"You are playing a very dangerous game knight-commander."

"_How the-"_

The knight-commander spun around, his hand reaching for the sword at his side, when he saw just who was standing there. Quickly composing himself while moving his hand far enough away from his weapon to not be deemed a threat, he apologized, "I am sorry for my disrespectful reaction. You startled me and I did not now if you were another templar or an intruder."

The figure did not seem to have been offended in the slightest. In a slightly smug tone they replied, "Even after all these years you are still paranoid and jumpy Martel but your mental status is not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?"

Instead of responding the figure simply smiled. Martel knew from both rumors and experience that the asari standing not five feet from him was one of the first to join the templars hundreds of years ago. As it stood she had over three hundred years of training and experience in addition to however long she had lived before that. Comparing himself to her was like trying to say throwing some water onto the ground was a downpour. Examining a purple hand she bluntly asked, "So what is this I hear about you committing treason against the chantry?"

To his credit he didn't stutter or miss a beat, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Finished looking at her nails the asari looked at Martel, her blue eyes piercing through to his soul, "Do you think I'm stupid? I didn't get where I am by being deaf knight-commander. I heard each and every word of your little speech. I must say that I didn't think you were this devious and cunning. You practically had Shepard eating out your hand by the end."

"I meant every word of what I told Shepard. I am not blind to the atrocities committed by templars despite my constant public denial. It is because of abusive templars ignoring their oaths to persecute innocent mages that the order has come under increasing scrutiny in the past few years. Even the Divine has suggested a formal inquiry into the individual circles by the seekers."

The asari seemed bored and sat down on a bench. Crossing her legs together she lazily asked, "And why exactly am I supposed to care?"

"I don't care about your personal motives. What I care about is preventing mages from running wild. Even now the dwarves tighten the lyrium being shipped out from Orzammar, drastically reducing the number of templars we can accommodate. If it continues to decrease we will be unable to give the proper amount of lyrium to the templars. Need I remind you of what happens to a templar when they are cut off from lyrium?"

"And what does the Divine know of your little plan?"

"Her Grace knows nothing of this. The seekers answer directly to her. Even on the off chance she were to agree, the seekers would soon find out and they would do anything to prevent the status quo from being shifted."

The asari let out a bark of laughter, "Does that include killing your little protégé?"

"And everyone who knew about the plan."

The asari's laughter cut off abruptly and Martel knew that he was in trouble. From years of experience he knew just how powerful and deadly an angry knight-justicar can be and he had just threatened one of the most powerful ones in Thedas.

"Was that a threat knight-commander?"

"Of course not!" he quickly corrected, "I was just insinuating what might happen if the seekers were to find out."

For a moment it seemed like the knight-justicar wasn't convinced. After a few seconds a sly smile graced her lips and she leaned back against the wall. Picking off dust from her armor, which was identical to his except for its deep red color and golden trim, he said, "I guess I can't be too angry with you knight-commander. You are devoted head over heels to the chantry. That is something I will never understand."

"I'm glad we could come to this arrangement."

Just as he turned away to leave Martel found his body unresponsive. Straining his neck to look down he found himself enveloped in a blue shimmer of magic, the calling sign of a knight-justicar's stasis spell. "Let me just make one thing clear knight-commander," the knight-justicar said from behind him, "I like Shepard. She has the capability of being so much more than a mere templar. If I find out that your plan led to her death you will find out firsthand why you do not _fuck_ with a knight-justicar. Am I clear?"

Released from the spell Martel coughed and replied, "Perfectly."

"What was that?"

Martel growled before answering, "I understand knight-justicar Aria."

"Good," Aria smirked as she watched Martel hurry away to probably vent his frustration on an unfortunate underling. She didn't care about what that insignificant man could do. She had to admit though that his plan was brilliant and, if executed perfectly, would do more then just destroy the seekers of truth. Personally she hated the seekers and had killed, secretly, several of them over the course of her long life that tried to pry into her background.

Leaning back and closing her eyes she said, "I bet Samara doesn't have this much fun. That woman really needs to learn to lighten up."

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**CODEX ENTRY: ASARI**

_An enigmatic race hailing from the island of Par Vollen, the asari have lived on Thedas for as long as the elves. Their early history is shrouded in mystery but it is known that they engaged in trade with the ancient elves at least as early as the founding of the Tevinter Imperium. When the imperium began expanding the magisters saw the lush and fertile grasslands of Par Vollen as ripe for the taking and the asari as perfect slaves. When they attempted to take the island they were quickly and easily repulsed by the strong magic wielded by the asari. When several invasions of the island failed the tevinter magisters attempted to use the same blood magic ritual they used to sink Arlathan against the asari. What happened next is still debate. What is known is that just as they were finishing the ritual several Asari matriarchs appeared before the magisters and retaliated with enough force to make them retreat to Minrathous in disgrace and terror._

_Asari biology is quite bizarre with nothing else on Thedas being quite like them. While at first glance they might appear to have a superficial resemblance to female humans apart from their blue skin and scalp crests, it is their reproductive system that is perhaps the most remarkable aspect about these people. If an Asari wants to have a child they find a willing partner of any race and in a process they refer to as 'melding,' they somehow send a stream of harmless lyrium through their partners in order to take a mental imprint. This process can last from anywhere between fifteen seconds to three minutes. Once it is done the Asari is pregnant and the partner is free to leave. It should be noted that Asari never give birth to other species._

_The most concerning feature about the asari is their inherent ability to use magic. Unlike the majority of the races living in Thedas, each and every asari is born with the ability to use magic. While some are better able to use their abilities then others, the simple fact that every asari is a potentially powerful mage has more than one templar concerned. It is said that if it weren't for the inability of demons to possess them the chantry would have called an Exalted March upon them long ago._

_Some of the most powerful asari mages, henceforth referred to here as matriarchs, felt the need to join the templar order despite their lack of faith in Andraste. Their reason, when asked, is that someone does not need to be consorting with demons to be a dangerous mage and who better to take on the more powerful apostates and blood mages then an asari. These matriarchs would become the first knight-justicars._

**_~ The History of the Asari - 5:95 Black_**

**Addendum 1: **_Some of the knight-commanders close to Par Vollen have started spreading interesting rumors. Apparently several asari matriarchs have shown interest in joining the templars. While I am not averse to increasing our numbers I will admit that the prospect of magic-wielding templars is more than a little disconcerting. Still, I find this intriguing enough to bring up to Divine Faustine I at the earliest convenience. - Knight-Vigilant Renault – 5:19 Black_

**Addendum 2: **_Apparently asari can do more than just procreate during their 'melds.' I have seen firsthand asari melding to share and receive memories from their partner in the process. Why aren't we using this on the mages on a regular basis? Who knows how many maleficars we could root out if we had several asari in our employ? - Knight-Captain Meredith Stannard – 9:05 Dragon_

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******Author's Note: Well, here is my mass effect and dragon age crossover. I have spent a lot of time flushing out the timeline so that the two universes seem to mesh together quite well. I actually have the plots of over 100 chapters done to some extent so I have a lot of story left to do. So stick around and don't forget to review each and every one of the chapters. I live off of reviews and the more people like you review the faster the chapters come out.**


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